The Gold Coast will be abuzz tomorrow night as finalists for the Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards fly in from around the nation to celebrate their achievements amongst fellow founders who have overcome the odds to thrive in what has been a challenging year for the economy and startup community.
Following gala ceremonies across four major cities, the country’s brightest young business minds will gather at The Star Gold Coast for an unforgettable evening that will give them the chance to connect with like-minded peers.
Accolades aside, the night will be about offering young entrepreneurs an opportunity to unwind, forge new connections, share ideas, and reflect on how far they’ve come as 2023 draws to a close.
With this year’s finalists collectively generating almost $2 billion in revenue in FY23 with $142 million in combined profit, there is clearly much to celebrate.
Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards founder Camilla Jansen is excited to see the Awards enter their sixth year on a national level, building on a legacy that began with the first event held on the Gold Coast in 2008.
"Being a founder myself, I understand how challenging it can be to build your own business from the ground up. These awards are about coming together so we can celebrate overcoming those hurdles and offer support to one another,” Jansen said.
“The connections being built are invaluable, and every finalist should be incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved. The calibre of the nominations for 2023 has been outstanding.”
Jansen is one of the judges who was given the difficult task of selecting this year’s winners. She also worked alongside fellow judges Dr Glen Richards, James Grieg, Robert Hynes and Baden U’ren to decide on the highly coveted Trailblazer Award and coveted Australian Young Entrepreneur Award, as well as the most contentious categories.
“I’d also like to thank our corporate sponsors, without whom the event would not have been possible. Thank you to Maserati, City of Gold Coast, Coraggio, VentureCrowd, and iVvy,” Jansen added.
Meet the 2023 Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards finalists (in alphabetical order by company name):
Alexander Jannink - Acusensus Australia (Melbourne)
Alex Hamze & Nof Hamze - Alamour The Label, Glazori, A&N Boutique (Brisbane)
Alex Bottomley - Ampersand Projects (Melbourne)
Dr Benjamin Coorey - Archistar, Snaploader (Sydney)
Rachel Scott, Jarrod Chesher - Asset Management Associates (Canberra)
Argylica Conditsis, William Conditsis - BABYBOO (Sydney)
Thomas Carlton - Bailey Abbott, Bastion Technology Services (Adelaide)
Mladen Jovanovic - BindiMaps (Sydney)
Steven Fordham - Blackrock Industries, Supply Solutions Group, Dreampath Recruitment, 3BM Group, Blackroo Industries, Blackroo Community Indigenous Corporation (Hunter Valley)
Bianca Roccisano & Bridgett Roccisano - Booby Tape, Bianca and Bridgett (Melbourne)
Koen Matera - Boodjara (Perth)
Johannes Egberts - Breathless Expeditions (Sydney)
Hash Tayeh - Burgertory, Consortium Food Group, Bean Lab, Mipasto (Melbourne)
Ash Reddy - Chess Mates (Brisbane)
Dr Reuben Sim & Dr May Chan - Dental Boutique (Melbourne)
Gary Sheppard - Direct Cranes Hire (Melbourne)
Luke Tadich - Dreamcourts (Melbourne)
Kristie Baird - Drip IV (Gold Coast)
Barratt Kennett - EFCOMM Sales and Marketing (Gold Coast)
Aamir Qutub - Enterprise Monkey, Angel Next Door, Beyond Grades (Geelong)
Alex Ewart - Explorate (Brisbane)
Neil Fabry - FAB Industrial Logistics, FAB Bloodstock, FAB Industrial (Sydney)
Georgio Batsinilas - FitazFK (Brisbane)
Bishara Hatoum - Fundo Loans (Sydney)
Joel Prokic, Matthew Nikolai & Jason Smit - G1 Asset Management, Tech To Country (Gold Coast)
James Carney, Alec Carney & Paul Carney - Gemelli Group (Gold Coast)
James Gilmour - Gilmour Space (Gold Coast)
Lachlan Catanese & Trent Scheirs - Grant Help (Melbourne)
Julian Pace - Happiness Co (Perth)
Bec Miller - Health with Bec (Perth)
Chris Baptista - HOMES by CMA, No Limit Developments (Brisbane)
Michael Huxley - Huxley Group, Huxley Online, MCH CAPITAL (Gold Coast)
Niamh Sullivan - INFIX Studio (Tweed Shire)
Daniel Wessels - Jacaranda Finance (Brisbane)
Stephen Pastor - Kings Of Neon, Cookie Dough Marketing, 3 Fingers Natural Zinc (Central Coast)
Thomas Carlton & Jana Carlton - Kinney (Adelaide)
Mannu Kala - KnG Group, KnG Healthcare, KnG Gold Home Care, KnG Tech & Cyber Security, KnG Education (Gold Coast)
Matt Purcell - KYU Media, Social Kung Fu (Sydney)
Lachlan Feeney - Labrys (Brisbane)
Dominic Woolrych & Tom Willis - Lawpath, Rideshare Training (Sydney)
Courtney Lockett - Lockett McCullough Lawyers (Brisbane)
Brodie Cook & Roger Cook - Lucent Globe (Gold Coast)
Stacey Hollands - Lust Minerals (Gold Coast)
Anna Podolsky - Lyka (Sydney)
Micky Ahuja - MA Services Group (Melbourne)
Jared Ooi - Maco Electrics (Gold Coast)
Mike Kellett - Macro Mike (Gold Coast)
Abdul Razak, Samira Razak - Maple Community Services (Sydney)
Taylor McPhail - McPhails Furniture, Casey Taylor Furniture (Wangaratta)
Jonathan Byrt, Jesse Leeworthy - memobottle (Melbourne)
Sam Hardy - Mercha.com.au (Sydney)
Nic Blair & Matt Anderson - Midnight Health (Brisbane)
Thomas Fu & Thomas McPherson - Motor Culture Australia (Brisbane)
James Mutton - Motorcycle Trading, DMS innovations (Brisbane)
Lauren French - Motto Fashions (Melbourne)
Jess Davis, Tyson Hoffmann - Mr Potato (Adelaide)
Allana Frisken - Muse Pilates (Lake Macquarie)
James Marshall - MWM Advisory (Gold Coast)
Fergus Creese - My Careers (Melbourne)
Dr Kent Tan - My Implant Dentist (Perth)
Paul Matthews & Jacob Skierka - MyTeacherAide (Hobart)
Lochie Burke, Afonso Firmo - NetNada (Central Coast)
Jasminne Hristic - NGO Training Centre (Gold Coast)
Olivia Jenkins - Olivia Jenkins Consulting (Barossa Valley)
David McGiveron & Bianca Tarrant - Our Cow (Casino)
David Toby & Mitchell Kelly - Pathfinder Marketing (Perth)
Blake Kelleway & Luke Whelan - Perth is OK! (Perth)
Michael Dooley - Pinnacle Online Marketing (Goulburn)
Jules Bouillon - Pistou (Sydney)
Hinney Lo - PixelForce (Adelaide)
Sian Murray & Ami Bateman - Pleasant State (Sunshine Coast)
Ross Ledingham - Potentia Solutions Leisure, Lina Rooftop, Soko Rooftop, Carmen Tequileria, Claw, Mina Italian, Soul Green Cafe (Brisbane)
Brittany Garbutt - Pretzel Australia, Voodoo Cafe, Priestess, Chubby Boy Breakfast and Bar (Perth)
Sam Moore - PYRA (Gold Coast)
Razia Ansari - RAIS INDUSTRIES (Brisbane)
Troy Rowe - ReSource (Melbourne)
Peter Dodeja - SAI Security Group, SAI Investments Group (Brisbane)
Blake Wilson - Sealed Up Waterproofing (Caboolture)
Paul Billing, Alexandra Rofe - Send Payments (Gold Coast)
Rob Hango-Zada, William On - Shippit (Sydney)
Johan Misquitta - Simplyai (Sydney)
Heuson Bak - Solar Naturally (Perth)
Michael Ramsey - Strong Pilates (Melbourne)
Harry Sanders - StudioHawk (Melbourne)
Adele Peek - The Cultural Intelligence Project, Cultural IQ, Make It Happen HQ, Colourwash Co, YYD Events + Experiences (Broome)
Mike Anderson & Chloe Anderson - Think Again Laser Clinic (Sydney)
Sam Jamsheedi - Trademark Group of Companies (Sydney)
Jacob Ritchie - Two Birds Social, Poly Studios, North Productions (Gold Coast)
Nicholas Greco, Filippo Palermo, Christian Serrao & Michael Christidis - Untitled Group, Beyond The Valley, Pitch Music & Arts, Wildlands, Grapevine Gathering, Ability Fest, For The Love, UGLY Vodka, Underscore Agency, Proxy Agency, Sun Cycle NYD (Melbourne)
Luke Vaughan - Vaun Group of Companies (Gold Coast)
Jeremy Yang - Veridooh (Sydney)
Courtney Joyce & Zac Joyce - Virtual Spotter, CloudTasker, Fitleads, FitForms (Hunter Valley)
Joshua Spurway, Myrrah Balasabas - Vision Made Co (Brisbane)
Tory Ogden - Voltora Industries, Kompliance (Brisbane)
Lana Hill - Walker Hill Digital (Brisbane)
Larni Spilsbury - Wipe Credit Clean, Snatched Clinic (Gold Coast)
Declan Kluver, Blake Thompson - XRecruiter (Brisbane)
Hayden Brass - Zea (Tamar Valley)
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